christopher price

Ten Spot: Who you should watch for Friday against the Bucs

The third preseason game is the dress rehearsal, the one that everyone points to as the final chance for the starters to get their work in before kicking back and watching the preseason finale. Of course, last year the Patriots got their doors blown off in the third preseason game by the Lions, played their starters in the preseason finale and still ended up getting to the Super Bowl. Which only proves that it’s dangerous to form rigid opinions about a football team based on the third preseason game. Regardless, here are 10 Patriots players we’ll be keeping a close eye on in Friday’s Patriots-Bucs contest.

Nate Solder/Marcus Cannon -- Presuming that it’s still too early to work Sebastian Vollmer back into the rotation at right tackle, all eyes are going to be on Cannon on the right side and Solder on the left to see how they respond to two tough weeks to open the preseason. After back-to-back games in which they appeared to struggle, they got an impassioned defense from offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia on Wednesday. It should be a little easier for them -- the Eagles tied for the league lead in sacks last season with 50, while the Buccaneers were dead last in the league in sacks with 23.

Logan Mankins -- He didn’t play on Monday (likely still getting into football shape after making his first appearance of the summer because of offseason knee surgery) but the return of the big fella at left guard should go a long way toward stabilizing the offensive line. It’ll also make Solder better. With this game serving as something of a dress rehearsal for the regular season, you have to like his odds of playing Friday against the Bucs. History tells us he should be able to step in without missing a beat -- this is the same guy who stepped right back into the lineup after missing the first half of the 2010 season.

Tom Brady -- The quarterback has attempted fewer passes (seven) to this point in the preseason than any year dating back to 2008, when he sat out all four preseason games. After Brady skipped Monday’s game against the Eagles, you would figure he’d be ready to roll against the Bucs. Brady and the Patriots offense put the hammer down against this same Tampa Bay team last year, giving the league a sense of just how uptempo the New England offense could be. (It also sparked a memorable postgame Q&A with Tampa’s Gerald McCoy, who marveled at the quickness of Brady and the Patriots offense.)

Ryan Mallett -- We don’t mean to disrespect Brian Hoyer, but Mallett appeared to make some strides on Monday against the Eagles. (Judge for yourself with this excellently put together series of clips of each one of his snaps.) Mallett, who is going into his second season in New England, certainly has gotten his chances this preseason -- he leads Patriots quarterbacks in just about every category this preseason including total snaps, passing yardage and completions. While Brady likely will get the bulk of the snaps against the Bucs, another solid performance from Mallett will lend some clarity to the Hoyer-Mallett competition.

Deion Branch -- While we’re not altogether sure that Branch and Donte’ Stallworth are really locked in a battle for the final wide receiver spot, the sight of Branch finishing with three catches for 51 yards while playing almost the entire game against the Eagles on Monday (even spending some time as a punt returner) should be enough to tell you that the veteran still has plenty left in the tank.

Jeff Demps -- If he plays -- and there’s the very real possibility that he’ll sit out against the Bucs -- it will be interesting to see what he does and how many snaps he gets. The guess here is that he gets a few shots working as a return man, and maybe a rep here or there in the backfield. The Patriots made a serious investment in Demps, and they are willing to wait for him to develop.

The running backs in the passing game -- This is well-trodden ground but it bears repeating: The Patriots passing game is going to rely on the running backs more this year than it has in the past. Through two games, the New England running backs have been targeted 23 times and have 11 catches (as a position group, the RBs are second only to the wide receivers, who have been targeted 43 times and have 18 catches). Shane Vereen is tied for the team lead with six receptions, and based on his college experience (he had 74 catches as a collegian) and Josh McDaniels' well-known affinity for the screen pass, he figures to get lots of work in that department this year.

Jermaine Cunningham -- After a lost 2011 season, Cunningham has shown signs of life over the course of training camp and into the preseason. He got a big boost on Monday against the Eagles, when he started -- with a handful of backups -- at defensive end and had three quarterback hits, one of which was the shot that knocked Michael Vick out of the game. Now he needs to build on that performance and start stringing together consistent outings. A good night against the Bucs would go a long way toward locking down a roster spot.

Dont’a Hightower -- After the first two weeks of the preseason, everyone seems to be in agreement that the linebacker out of Alabama has the chance to be a special football player. But one thing that really stood out against the Eagles was the fact that, with Jerod Mayo not playing, the rookie was running the defensive huddle and wearing the green dot on the back of his helmet (indicating that he had the communication system). One of the reasons that Hightower was wearing the dot was because he was playing the central position of linebacker -- and demands a high football IQ -- but it also shows a level of trust that the coaching staff hasn’t shown in many rookies over the years.

Safety combinations other than Pat Chung and Steve Gregory -- Chung got dinged up on Monday against the Eagles and is a safe bet not to play against Tampa Bay. However, Chung and Gregory already are pretty well-established as the lead combo at safety -- they have developed an excellent working relationship in a relatively short time. That leaves us with a crew that includes holdovers Sergio Brown, Josh Barrett and James Ihedigbo, as well as rookies Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner.

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